How does Bulgaria, which currently presides the Council of the EU, treat detainees and prisoners? The short answer is: like a dictatorship.

In my article “Hell is Closer than the EU Thinks: On Torture and Other Human Rights Abuses in Bulgarian Custodial and Detention Facilities,” I raised concern that Bulgaria has not made any progress in the area of prison conditions for the past twenty years. The picture is rather gloomy: deliberate physical ill-treatment, rampant corruption, deteriorating material conditions, etc. This is what reputable international organizations such as the United Nations and the Council of Europe have discovered. Moreover, they concur that the situation has not been addressed in any way by a long line of governments. The European Court of Human Rights has also handed down a series of judgments against Bulgaria, but the country continues to advance in the most non-prestigious ranking — major violator of the European Convention on Human Rights.

It is high time to end this nightmare taking place in an EU member. #SayNoToAbuse

Nobody should be above the law and only a legitimate court can have a say on punishment. Bulgarian authorities need to move away from the 19th century model of punishment once and for all.